New networking tool to help create enviro-friendly, and profitable, commercial buildings

Posted by gmarkets on 4 October, 2007

Better known as the plaything of Gener­ation Y, online social networking technology has been put to use by the commercial prop­erty sector, with the launch of a $1.5 million online encyclopedia and networking tool to help create environmentally friendly and profitable commercial buildings, reported The Sydney Morning Herald (29/9/2007, p.60).

Joint initiative: Designed to function as a wiki – a collaborative web tool -“Your Building” was unveiled at Stockland’s sustainable new headquarters in Sydney’s CBD. It was a joint initiative of the Australian Greenhouse Office (AGO), the Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) for Construction Innovation and the Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council. Your Building uses Internet links to pool thousands of indi­vidual sources of information on current sustainability practices, regulation, techno­logical innovations and case studies in a single location. How-to guides on developing business cases for green developments and refurbish­ments also featured on the site.

Green premium: According to the AGO, the building sector had a significant impact on the environment, accounting for 10 per cent of Australia’s greenhouse emissions, 12 per cent of water consumption and up to 40 per cent of total energy. Activities around buildings produced 40 per cent of landfill waste and 40 per cent of air emissions in Australia. Dr Tony Stapledon, project leader of Your Building, said the site would help tackle bar­riers to successful business cases by demonstrating how to lower development and capital costs, reduce liability and risk, increase tenant productivity and give build­ings a green premium.